My Pictures of Downtown Syracuse, NY (Victor, Baldwinsville: apartments, rentals, lofts)

[bellafinzi]

ScrantonWilkesBarre, here are my pictures of downtown Syracuse. I have many more pictures of the city, but I didn't want to overload the bandwidth.

Downtown Syracuse has a population of about 2,500



































































I hope you enjoyed them!

[ScranBarre]

Thanks very much for this photographic tour of the city! Yes, I did enjoy your handiwork very much, and I appreciate the time you took to upload these photos! ;o) I'm a "city guy" myself trapped amid soccer moms and pool boys, and I could just envision myself living in a condo in that building that looks very similar to the "Flatiron Building" in Manhattan, where I could walk to the Subway for lunch, club at that Tropical place, head to my downtown office, etc. I'm just a big supporter of walkable communities, and Downtown Syracuse looks to have some inviting architecture. Stay tuned for my Scranton photo thread, which I'll hopefully have uploaded by Sunday evening, (assuming this weekend's weather forecast for 78 degrees and sunny both days still holds true!) ;o) Thanks again!

[WNYerinSOCAL]

Again great photos. I really enjoyed looking at them a lot. Thanks!

[bellafinzi]

Thanks and your welcome to both of you! That Flatiron Building is one of my favorites too, I think its called City Commons. I'll be on the look out for your Scranton photo thread.

[Glen NY]

Bella, Is that downtown population of 2,500 correct or should it be 25,000?

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by Glen NY

Bella, Is that downtown population of 2,500 correct or should it be 25,000?

It's right. I saw it in the newspaper last week. They were saying that if downtown could have a population that's 1% of the metro, then it will become a viable neighborhood with more shopping options. Over 6,000 would be 1% of the metro population. It will take a lot of new apartments to grow downtown by 4,000 people. Downtown living is still new in Syracuse. Before five years ago, no one was creating new lofts in downtown, but today there are new projects announced every year. Downtown still has a long way to go though.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

It's right. I saw it in the newspaper last week. They were saying that if downtown could have a population that's 1% of the metro, then it will become a viable neighborhood with more shopping options. Over 6,000 would be 1% of the metro population. It will take a lot of new apartments to grow downtown by 4,000 people. Downtown living is still new in Syracuse. Before five years ago, no one was creating new lofts in downtown, but today there are new projects announced every year. Downtown still has a long way to go though.

This phenomenon is occurring in every urban area in the nation. Even Scranton, which is roughly half the size of the city of Syracuse, has hundreds of new downtown lofts, condos, and townhomes on the planning board in the upcoming years. I think some people (like ME) are just tiring of driving everywhere all the time and would like to be in the "middle of the action" again. Personally, I'm hopeful that the "Jefferson Pointe" project between the Scranton Hilton and the Scranton Radisson will become my new address once I graduate from college, and I then hope to be able to walk daily from Jefferson Pointe to the train station, where I'd hop a commuter train to Hoboken, NJ, where I'd then connect into Manhattan for work at Pricewaterhouse (Big ambitions---I know! LOL!) I could then walk a few blocks home from the train station, perhaps stopping at the way to shop for new clothes at the Steamtown Mall, perk up at Starbucks, pick up a pie at the Community Bake Shop, or relax at the bistros that are also expected to open soon.

People have poisoned the word "city" over the past several decades, but now people are finally tiring of the traffic congestion and ugly cookie-cutter development in the 'burbs, and some are heading back "in-town" again. Here in Scranton, the "Upper Hill" neighborhood has seen a yuppie movement in recent years where young professional couples have moved into the region, rehabbing Victorian homes and starting their own families. I think Scranton's downtown recovery efforts are just a few years ahead of Syracuse's (being only two hours from both NYC and Philly is also helping us), but I think urban parts of Onondaga County are poised for a great future as well!

[Glen NY]

Bella and Scranton, I have been reading the comments you have both been making about suburban sprawl vs. city rebirth. There is something to be said about both. I look at my village, I mean the old original village of Baldwinsville. It, much like so many part of the city of Syracuse has a load of delapidated old homes. Many are rentals. Parts look pretty sad. To see what was once a beautiful old village is now depressed(not all of it but parts). What has happened to the old villages is obvious. People are opting for the brand new 2-3,000 sq ft homes over renovating the old ones. I wish there was an incentive, perhaps a tax break to get people to invest in these old homes. It seems the attitude up here is everyone wants new. Even homes that are 10-20yrs old have a tough time selling. Down on Long Island and NYC they have very little land to develop for new housing so people are forced to renovate the old. In fact it is not rare for a developer to buy an old house on a big lot for about $300,000 and rip it down and build two new ones. On the otherside of the coin is a political arguement about whether or not government should intervine by restricting ones right to build. That I disagree with unless ofcourse there were a more valid reason, say environmental issues or something like that.

[digital_alana]

Whoa!, Great phtot tour of the City. You gave me a new view on Syracuse, I can't wait to visit.

[nikkiyc]

Wow, great pictures! My husband and I are from Syracuse, but the army life has taken us traveling to other places. Someday we'll return home. That picture that shows a part of a building that says Deluxe on it, that's where I use to work! I hear they are closing now. Anyway, again, nice pictures!